Guru Nanak Gurdwara

The main part of the Gurdwara is on the site of Smethwick Congregational Church that was built in 1855 and closed in 1961 when the site was acquired by the Sikh community. Kuldeep said “We still imagine it as a church, it’s part of our history. The grounds are special because for over 150 yrs before there was spiritual practice here – we love that part of our heritage.” The site has grown over the years and other buildings have been incorporated, the Langar hall is on the site of the old Princes Cinema built in 1912. The Langar hall is open 4am-9pm but food is available 24 hours a day, every day about 15,000 meals are served each week. Guru Nanak envisaged a Gurdwara as a community centre and so they run lots of activities including various Marshall arts classes such as MMA, Thai Boxing, Wrestling and Women’s Self-Defence as well as mental health classes. The Sikh Youth Community Centre (SYCC )includes a nursery and Punjabi School which 550 children attend.
Members from the Gurdwara commissioned the Lions of The Great War statue which can be seen outside the Gurdwara and which commemorates soldiers from Commonwealth countries, not just Sikhs.

Kuldeep’s maternal grandfather in the forces and fought in Burma during WWII and so were able to locate to UK where Kuldeep was born. The Gurdwara was the first place he was taken as a baby and grew up conscious of being a Sikh. He continued to come to the Gurdwara every day after school, college and even university. Although he did face some bullying at school he says it was as much about just being different and not necessarily about religion or race. As an adult things are much better and he faces no issues at work with colleagues in the IT companies he’s worked for being very understanding.

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